Government of Nova Scotia Needs to Ban Fracking

Sierra Club Canada Foundation is calling for a provincial ban on fracking based on the outcomes of a public review on fracking, released today. Click here to download the review

“This report makes it clear that fracking cannot proceed safely, and that the people of Nova Scotia are deeply concerned about its impacts on their health and communities, “ according to Gretchen Fitzgerald, Campaigns Director of the Atlantic Chapter.

“We are calling on the province of Nova Scotia to act immediately to draft a moratorium on fracking,” states John Bennett, National Program Director, Sierra Club Canada Foundation. “Nova Scotians deserve the certainty that their communities will be safe.”

The panel followed its top-level finding in that “hydraulic fracturing for the purpose of unconventional gas and oil development should not proceed at the present time in Nova Scotia.” It also makes a number of recommendations for research and regulations and also asks for the development of a new test for community consent needed for fracking to proceed in the future. However, the panel report is careful not to make what it considers a 'political' recommendion such as a moratorium.

“Public meetings held by the panel were attended by an overwhelming majority of well-informed citizens who had deep concerns about fracking,” according to Fitzgerald, “Those concerns should be met with the type of leadership they deserve: an immediate, legally binding ban.”

The Government of Nova Scotia has stated they will respond to the panel’s recommendations in the next 30 days.